Pheasants: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan ... - IUCN

Resources: needs will vary depending on the length and
scope of individual surveys.
Project 8. Surveys for threatened
pheasants in Borneo
Aims: to conduct extensive distribution surveys of
threatened pheasants in Borneo; to collate and assess
existing and new information.
Justification: knowledge of Indonesian pheasants remains
poor. The country has the longest list of birds believed to
be threatened with extinction. In many cases, however,
this reflects problems presumed to have arisen as a result
of habitat loss or degradation rather than direct evidence
of declines in numbers. The threats facing Indonesia’s
biodiversity are very real, but the continuing lack of
baseline information on pheasants prevents any objective
assessment through which to propose appropriate
conservation actions. New information on the threatened
species of pheasant known to occur on the island (Bornean
peacock-pheasant, Bulwer’s pheasant, and crestless
fireback) is needed, but there is an urgent requirement for
all existing information to be collated and assessed.
Project description: the island of Borneo covers 755,000km 2
and comprises three countries. This means that establishing
the distribution and status of all its Galliformes will not be
easy, but there is much scope for surveys in many parts of
the island at various times of year. The PSG will attempt
to collate any site records for other species in Borneo, as
well as any unexpected absences. These data will be sent to
relevant SSC Specialist Groups. At a minimum,
information on exact locality, altitude, date, and habitat
type should be collected. All information on Galliformes
species should be made available to the Asian Galliformes
Sites Database (Project 3).
Timescale: projects of any duration can contribute useful
information.
Resources: needs will vary depending on the length and
scope of individual surveys.
4.3 Strategic projects
Project 9. Taxonomic re-assessment of
pheasants
Aim: to develop a stable nomenclature and taxonomy for
the pheasants.
Justification: the species remains the most practical level
at which to direct conservation action. Such action,
therefore, relies on the correct identification of species and
the robust definition of species limits. However, recent
advances in taxonomic thinking (e.g., species concepts,
Evolutionarily Significant Units), and especially
phylogenetic analyses based on DNA sequences, have
thrown into some doubt the validity of certain pheasant
Research is required on the
Bulwer’s pheasant of Borneo
to assess more accurately its
conservation status.
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